Mannn, I love that old Hobbit cartoon. I mean the strange dude with the high falsetto voice singing all those songs was a little, er, odd. But I loved the depiction of Gandalf and Bilbo. But the voice of Smaug was the best. I love that line, "Well, thief, I feel you and I smell your air..."

Be on the lookout for James Somers and his Chronicles of Soone SciFi series. It's very good stuff. I was hooked right off. It's going to be BIG. Just remember, you heard it here first.

Muchas Gracias, me amigo! I can't wait for Isle of Swords...Matey!

Gee I wander if falsetto guy from the HObbit has an album out?

It will be interesting to see if they ever get the Hobbit movie out. The dragon was definitely a cool character...that scene is one of the best.

I think one of the coolest scenes in the newer Star WArs was in episode III when Anakin is in the Jedi council chambers with the setting sun coming through and he's considering whether or not he should disobey Mace Windu and go to the Chancellors chambers.
That cool (very un-star wars music) and the cuts between he and padme across the city as they sense one another is really creepy and made DArth Vader's betrayal seem so tragic.

Be on the lookout for James Somers and his Chronicles of Soone SciFi series. It's very good stuff. I was hooked right off. It's going to be BIG. Just remember, you heard it here first.

The Chronicles of Soone series definitely needs what big publishing houses can do (great editing, promotion and distribution).

I'm grateful for the opportunity given me by Breakneck Books in publishing the first novel: Heir to the King...but you'll never find it in a bookstore except online (amazon) and others because of the lack of distribution most small independent publishers have.

I have to think the Lord is working something out in the order of events though...published with small independent, wayne reads it and gives great review, representation with Gregg and Bethany asks for the full manuscript...I hope I'm not dreaming that there appears to be a set progression in the order of events and God has been in control all the way.

I hope I'm not dreaming that there appears to be a set progression in the order of events and God has been in control all the way.

There's no question that your story is publishable quality. The storyline, the characters, the suspense-building--all better than a lot of books out there. BUT the progression may be longer, or have more obstacles yet. Remembering that He is in control of the whole process is your key.

The hope is that the climate in publishing is changing such that a house like Bethany (who does great fiction) will be confident enough to contract SciFi. It's a risk that I think would pay off in many ways for all concerned.

There's no question that your story is publishable quality. The storyline, the characters, the suspense-building--all better than a lot of books out there. BUT the progression may be longer, or have more obstacles yet. Remembering that He is in control of the whole process is your key.

The hope is that the climate in publishing is changing such that a house like Bethany (who does great fiction) will be confident enough to contract SciFi. It's a risk that I think would pay off in many ways for all concerned.

It's certainly true that High fantasy has made the leap successfully to the Christian arena, but I've not seen much in the way of Sci-fi fantasy. Certainly there are some...but I go to the Christian bookstore and don't find them. There are a number of good Medieval fantasy series out right now, The Door Within (of course), Christopher Hopper's: White Lion Chronicles, Bryan DAvis: Dragons in the Midst, Karen Hancocks series and recently Sharon Hinck's: Sword of Lyric series.

I'm not sure what I could add to these, but I'm hoping to fill a void with Chronicles. They were just saying on FOX that Harry Potter has competition from Christians with WAyne's Door Within Trilogy...Amen to that. Chronicles of Soone, on the other hand could fill the void left by STAR WARS...because the style is there even if the story is different.

there are some voids out there folks...I was personally very glad to see that WAyne's next fantasy adventure is a high seas pirate story (Isle of Swords). With the success that WAyne has had with The Door Within, one might have expected him to recreate the same success in a similar type of story, but he didn't do that and that is bravery. People who like one might not like the other, but the need to explore new areas of imagination is compelling and I commend WAyne on going for it. It will be interesting to see how the industry moves with regard to Isle of Swords...if it is a success, then they'll be snapping up pirate stories probably (or as veggie tales would say: "Piratey things")

There are lots of places for our imaginations to take us as writers. We just have to be willing to explore them.

Hullo

• Name or User Name

I'm delighted that the handle 'scribe' has stuck so well. That's what most people call me now, so feel free to do the same.

• Interests/Hobbies
Writing though it's more like an obsession/calling. I write SciFi, Fantasy, and Science Fantasy. I dabble with art (I work with fabric, wood, paper, and even some metal) and usually turn to that when I'm stuck for words.

• Have you read The Door Within Trilogy or not?
Yep and loved each one!

• Have you read Isle of Swords or not?
Yep and loved it too. Can you sense the smugness?

• Your "Gateway" book--ie, the fantasy book that ushered you into a love for the fantasy genre.

I think possibly either "A Wolf Story" by James Byron Huggins OR "Children in the Night" by Harold Myra

• Anything else you want to share.

I love Ireland, I lived there for three months, and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Sounds like neat stuff, James. I read Wayne's review of your book some time ago, you clearly come highly recommended.

I've also worked on a Christian-influenced science fiction book....well it's actually now a duology since the story ended up north of 180,000 words and I had to cut it in two. Anyway, I'm just editing it now. It's not really science fiction fantasy. It takes place on Earth, in the 22nd Century. It's more Robert Heinlein/Philip K. Dick than Star Wars, which will make it a certain curiosity among the Christian spec fiction community, should it get published.

I enjoy watching movies, reading, video games and pretty much trying to have a good time

I have not yet read any of the books

I am not huge in to fantasy yet. But I did enjoy Lord of the Rings and beleive it or not, the Harry Potter books (I beleive you find whatever you're looking for when it comes to a book)

I am 26 years old and I am looking for some good fantasy books to read. The Door within books intrigue me and I beleive that I would like to give them a try. Any suggestions on some fantasy books that someone of my age may enjoy would be greatly appreciated.

Take Heart

James, your tales sound like something I would absolutely love! There's a bit of a move towards SciFi now too in the CBA market, granted it's more like a slow lurching crawl, but at least it's not stalled anymore. Last Sci Fi/ Science fantasy that was Christian I came across was Kathy Tyers "FireBird" trilogy and that was in the last decade.

Since this is the introductions thread, my name is D. Shane Burton, and I am a Christian sci-fi/fantasy author.

My trilogy is Christian sci-fi/fantasy, but I published through Xulon, the largest Christian POD publisher, so the books are available online and to order through bookstores, causing them to remain in obscurity.

To find books in these genres you really have to search and be willing to take a chance on books not from the "big" Christian publishers.

Here is the genre on Amazon containing Christian books in the sci-fi/fantasy genre:

Sounds like neat stuff, James. I read Wayne's review of your book some time ago, you clearly come highly recommended.

I've also worked on a Christian-influenced science fiction book....well it's actually now a duology since the story ended up north of 180,000 words and I had to cut it in two. Anyway, I'm just editing it now. It's not really science fiction fantasy. It takes place on Earth, in the 22nd Century. It's more Robert Heinlein/Philip K. Dick than Star Wars, which will make it a certain curiosity among the Christian spec fiction community, should it get published.

If you plan on selling your book to a mainline publisher, they do prefer between 80 to 120 thousand words. I published POD, so I left my three novels intact. The first was around 176,000, the second around 203,000 including the glossary, and the third just over 187,000 words. I published in size 10 font to keep the page numbers down, and I prefer size 10 anyway. I'm just saying there are options to publish the book intact if you so desire. In a 6X9 paperback in 10 font, your book would probably be around 380-390 pages long.